Mr. Magic - The Original Hip Hop Radio Mixshow DJ Dies

Legendary hip hop DJ Mr. Magic died of a heart attack this morning. He was the man who brought rap music to the radio, and some of the most famous moments in hip hop wouldn't have happened without him.Starting in 1983, Mr. Magic hosted "Rap Attack" with Marley Marl on WBLS radio in NYC—which was the first all-hip hop radio show, anywhere. For a long time, he was the man when it came to breaking new rappers on the East Coast. He got name-dropped a lot, as you would imagine. "Every Saturday, Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl," said Biggie Smalls. "I gots to have it/ I miss Mr. Magic," said Nas. Miss Info posted a letter from DJ Premier this morning remembering the man's accomplishments. Here’s what DJ Premier shared in his condolence letter about hip hop radio pioneer:I WANT TO SEND OUT THE UTMOST RESPECT AND CONDOLENCES TO THE MEMORY OF JOHN RIVAS—-aka MR. MAGICHE PASSED AWAY THIS MORNING OF A HEART ATTACK…..TRUE HIP HOP HEADS KNOW THAT HIS HISTORY IS SO LONGDUE TO HIM BEING THE FIRST RAP MIXSHOW TO EVER BE ON COMMERCIAL RADIO ON NEW YORK’S WBLS–(107.5) WITH MARLEY MARL AND FLY TY IN 1982-1984…….THEN WENT ON TO WHBI IN OCTOBER OF 1984 AND THENBACK TO WBLS in 1985 and WDAS in Philly SIMULTANEOUSLYHE PAVED THE WAY FOR ALL RADIO STATIONS THAT EVER DID MIXSHOWS AND ALSO SPARKED THE CAREER OF BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS DUE TO THE DISS HE SHOWED WHEN THEY CAME TO SHOP THEIR DEMO TO HIM AND WAS TURNED AWAY WHICH THEN SPARKED “SOUTH BRONX” AND “THE BRIDGE IS OVER”…….HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS DIRECT AND SARCASTIC ATTITUDE ON THE AIR AND EVERY ARTIST WANTED HIS APPROVAL WHEN IT CAME TO BREAKING NEW RECORDS……..HE EVEN HAD SONGS DEDICATED TO HIM BY THE LEGENDARY WHODINI–(”MR. MAGIC’S WAND”) WHICH WAS SURPRISINGLY PRODUCED BY ONE OF MY FAVORITE ARTISTS THOMAS DOLBY…….SHOUTS OUT TO MARLEY MARL AND FLY TY FOR THE CORRECT INFORMATION ON THIS……REST IN PEACE MR. MAGIC………….DJ PREMIER